Silent Poet should love turf, distance

Saratoga and Del Mar, the heart of summer racing, lie just around the corner, but the North American stakes landscape this first Saturday in July already looks very appealing.

At Belmont, Life Is Good returns to racing for the first time since a plowed field of a track surface at Meydan Racecourse compromised his chances of getting 1 1/4 miles in the Dubai World Cup. As much as I respect Speaker’s Corner and don’t think he showed close to his best in the Met Mile, he’s not beating an in-form Life Is Good.

The Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs gives Olympiad a chance to show he’s as good as anyone at 1 1/16 to 1/18 miles, and both he and Americanrevolution would offer value if, as the morning line says, Mandaloun is favored.

On to the actual races this week.

Highlander

It’s hard to see how Silent Poet goes off at anywhere close to his 10-1 morning line odds, and to be frank this line generally seems suspect, but the guess is Silent Poet still offers value in the win pool.

Silent Poet is a 7-year-old but a lightly raced one with just 24 starts. He showed no sign of slowing down in 2021 and while his two 2022 starts are relatively slow, both came over Woodbine’s Tapeta surface, which is in no way Silent Poet’s game. This is a turf horse, through and through, and while he has raced effectively over seven furlongs, six hits him right between the eyes. Comb through the gelding’s lifetime record and he’s 6-5-1-0 in grass races between six and 6 1/2 furlongs.

Silent Poet has the raw speed to lead but the brain to respond to the cues from regular rider Justin Stein, who ought to settle Silent Poet just behind a couple horses more intent on making the front. One of those, Bound for Nowhere, is a 5-2 morning-line favorite I’ll gladly oppose in his Woodbine debut. Bound for Nowhere has the poetic name – but he won’t be able to keep up with Silent Poet in the final stanza.

Princess Rooney

Ce Ce aired in the 2021 Princess Rooney shipping into steamy South Florida, and as the 2021 champion female sprinter, she’ll be an odds-on favorite to win the race again despite cutting back from two routes and racing for the first time since April 23. I don’t see either the distance shift or the layoff as major concerns and have plenty of respect for this mare, but I’ll still try to take her down with Spirit Wind.

Spirit Wind, a lightly raced 3-year-old, comes out of the gate like a rocket and outbroke eventual early pacesetter R Adios Jersey on May 21 in the Musical Romance. After R Adios Jersey crossed and cleared, Spirit Wind was shifted off the rail and showed she could rate comfortably off another horse, swamping R Adios Jersey before turning for home and impressively drawing away to an easy win against older Florida-bred rivals.

With her rail draw and as the likely controlling speed Saturday there should be no rating off rivals for Spirit Wind, who gets a meaningful eight pounds from Ce Ce. Spirit Wind regressed off a powerhouse maiden win even while beating open 3-yearold stakes rivals March 19 in the Any Limit, and this time, trainer Ralph Nicks has given the filly ample recovery time after she showed in the Musical Romance she’s matured since winter and become a faster filly. Spirit Wind had no issue going out to 6 1/2 furlongs last time and with a clear lead I think she’ll be fine at this seven-furlong trip. But is she good enough, even getting weight? The price should be fair enough to find out.

Kent

Though I don’t expect odds as high as 6-1, I’m going back to Elizar here despite his somewhat disappointing performance as the play in the Pennine Ridge, his North American debut.

The Pennine Ridge unfolded at a walking pace, which didn’t help Elizar, who loomed and faded through the final furlong – a stark contrast to his lone start in France, where he looped an all-weather field with a flashy last-to-first move. The addition of Lasix is worth noting and the early and middle tempo in the Kent should better suit Elizar, who ought to have no trouble staying 1 1/8 miles and will show Saturday that he’s not just a synthetic performer.